Why are apostrophes such a problem?

If there's one thing that's guaranteed to enrage the Grammar Police (who, by the way, are definitely not cool), it's the misuse of apostrophes.

We really do seem to have a big problem with them – whether they're missed out or put in where they have no business being, lots of people just can't seem to get it right. For them, it's the punctuation equivalent of pin the tail on the donkey – a matter of luck more than judgement whether they hit the mark!

I think apostrophes are a problem for lots of people because:

there is more than one way of using an apostrophe

the apostrophe rules also have exceptions (thanks, English language!)

like everything else in the English language, how the apostrophe is used can sometimes be a style choice rather than a hard and fast rule

we see so many instances of incorrect use it can be difficult to remember the right way to use them.

What is an apostrophe used for?

Generally, there are only two main reasons for an apostrophe's existence. That's right, two. And if you can get those two reasons clear in your mind then you've a much higher chance of using one correctly.

1 In contractions, to show that a letter has been left out.

2 To show possession, i.e. that something belongs to someone.

How do I use an apostrophe in contractions?

Here the apostrophe is used to show that one or more letters has been left out when combining two words:

is not
cannot
should not
they had

=
=
=
=

​isn't
can't
shouldn't
they'd

I have
we will
​we would/had
you are

=
=
=
=

I've
​we'll
​we'd
​you're
​

So far, so straightforward, yes?

Just be sure to note that the apostrophe goes where the missing letter is. You should never write is'nt or Iv'e.

How do I use an apostrophe to show possession?

So this is where things start to get a bit more complicated!

Let's start with the straightforward bit.

We use an apostrophe + s to show that something belongs to someone or something:

Denise's blog post

​Andy's passport

the book's cover

an hour's time

I think most people are OK with this. But what if the word already ends in s?

Most punctuation guides will now go with the 'if you say it then write it' rule.

Ross's video

James's gym

Leaving off the s is pretty much a matter of style in this context these days – some publications stipulate their preference in their style guide.

My friend Ross is positively affronted if you write Ross' and leave off that second s. So be warned– some people feel strongly about this one!

However, when the end of the word is pronounced iz or ez, you can safely leave off that second s.

I get that this must seem illogical and confusing, but I'm afraid there's no way around it–you just have to accept that there are lots of these inconsistencies in our language and try to do the right thing!

When can I leave out an apostrophe?

Short answer? In plurals.

When there is more than one of something, you don't need an apostrophe – the plural ending is quite enough, whether that's -s, -es, or -ies.

a dozen free-range eggs

two pounds of tomatoes

five yummy mummies

See? Not an apostrophe in sight!

But … but … what about possessive plurals? Ooh, meltdown alert! Don't be tempted to just give up at this point, though. You can work it out!

POSSESSIVE PLURALS

A plural never takes an apostrophe, but when you want to show that something belongs to that plural, then here comes that apostrophe, just to muddy the waters!

If you want to show that a plural is possessive, and it already ends in s, then you only need to add an apostrophe after the s:

the boys' football boots (the football boots belonging to all the boys)

the foxes' den (the den belonging to all the foxes)

the ladies' cocktails (the cocktails belonging to all the ladies)​

And when you have a plural which is irregular (you haven't simply added s to make it plural), you add 's just like any other possessive:

men's shoes

the children's bedroom

the mice's cage​​

IS THERE AN EXCEPTION TO NOT USING AN APOSTROPHE IN PLURALS?

Of course! This is English–​we have exceptions for everything!

If not adding an apostrophe would make your plural unreadable or confusing, then it's OK to add an apostrophe.

This is why you might see:

read the do's and don'ts

mind your p's and q's

There is no agreement on this approach, but Grammar Girl gives some nicely pragmatic advice about it:

'Unless your editor wishes otherwise, if you write books, spell it dos and don'ts; and if you write for newspapers, magazines, or the Web, spell it do's and don'ts. If you're writing for yourself, spell it any way you want.'

Phew, I think we got there!

I hope this has helped you to understand when you should and shouldn't use an apostrophe. I don't expect you to have had a Eureka! moment (if you did, I really want to hear about it!), but I hope I've shone some light on what, for many people, is a very fuzzy area.

​What’s the difference between a hyphen and a dash?

Good question – did you even know there was a difference?

Hyphens and dashes are distinct characters on your keyboard and they have separate jobs.

They are also different widths, although depending on the typeface you are using that may not always be really obvious.

What is a hyphen?

OK, indulge me here for the sake of completeness. I know you know what a hyphen is, but let's just do a spot of revision here!

​A hyphen is a horizontal line that is used to join two words, or parts of words, together, e.g. well-known, co-ordinate, fat-free.

Using a hyphen can be a matter of preference. I used co-ordinate as an example above, but some style guides I work with prefer it to be closed up, without a hyphen: coordinate. Whichever style you prefer, make sure you use it consistently.

How do I make a hyphen?

The hyphen is on the top right of your keyboard, to the right of the number 0. You can also use the minus sign on the numeric keypad, if your keyboard has one.

When do I use a hyphen?

A hyphen is used:

to join a prefix to its word

in compound words​

1. A hyphen is used to join a prefix– such asre,de,antior non – to its word:​re-apply,de-ice,anti-clockwise,non-negotiable.

It's worth remembering that, generally, the trend is for prefixes to lose their hyphens, except where it would be confusing.

This is why most people willnow write email rather than e-mail (or electronic-mail!), but we would still write re-apply rather than reapply and re-refer rather than rerefer.

2. A hyphen is also used in compound words – such aswell-known,part-timeordark-blue– which are used to describe a noun:awell-known speaker;a part-time worker;a dark-blue uniform.

We don't need to go into all the ins and outs of using hyphens in compound words here, but note that when the modifier comes after the word it's describing, you don't use a hyphen:the speaker is well known; he works part time;the uniform is dark blue.​

Planning the group edit session

I think it’s fair to say that this was the session in my recent mastermind retreat that caused the most anxiety!

Having your work reviewed by an author or desk editor, or whoever commissioned you to edit or proofread, is a part of any job, of course.

But having other editors look at how you’ve edited? Wow! That’s opening yourself up to a whole different level of scrutiny and self-doubt!

At the planning stage of my retreat with six other editors, we brainstormed which areas we wanted to focus on. We all agreed that having our work looked at by others was an important exercise to include, and that it would be a safe and supportive environment to do so.

Initial plans

Our original plan was to have a single piece of text which we would each edit ‘live’, at the retreat. We would then review what we’d all done and discuss the similarities and differences in our edits.

One thing was for sure– this would have created plenty of discussion points, because no two editors will edit a text in the same way.

A better way for us

As we discussed the practicalities of doing a 'live' edit, we came to realise that, for us at least, it was putting too much pressure on ourselves.

Apart from the question of how long the piece would need to be to make the exercise meaningful, and whether we would have the time to accommodate it, there was the fundamental question of why we were doing it.

We wanted to look at the similarities and differences in our individual approaches to editing and learn from each other through examination and discussion of the edited text.

However, it soon emerged that a live edit wasn’t an ideal format for our group. There were concerns that the work we did– in what would essentially be a timed test– would not be a true reflection of how we approached our work or what we could actually do.

Some of us also had worries about exposing ourselves to direct comparisons with each other, as there are often many options when navigating the subtleties of editing. In a limited time how helpful would that be?

If you've ever visited an editors' forum online, you'll know just how detailed (or bogged down!) discussions can get over word usage and comma placement, and the outcome is usually that there is no consensus!

There was always the risk that would happen to us, and that, as a result, we wouldn't achieve much in the time allocated.

And, honestly? We wanted to enjoy the weekend, and there was a real danger that worrying about this particular session would overshadow all the others.

That's not to say that it would never be a suitable thing to do, just that at this stage of our group's development it wasn't the right thing for us.

Instead, we decided that each of us would provide an anonymised piece of edited work that we could discuss in more general terms as a group.

A cross-section of texts

Unintentionally, we each provided a very different type of text, which worked incredibly well because each piece generated a different discussion point.

I wish I could say we’d planned it that way!

The texts that we looked at were of the following types:

Educational textbook

When we discussed this piece, what was evident was that even though the sample was fairly short in terms of word count, the time needed to address the artwork and layout, and the volume of queries exchanged with the author, was considerable.

This was a good reminder to factor this time in when quoting for this type of work.

Technical writing

This piece made our eyes boggle! The sheer volume of abbreviations and technical terms was, on the face of it, a barrier to anyone without subject knowledge editing it.

However, as its editor explained, there was a comprehensive style sheet for her to follow, and the text was from a repeat client. Because of this regular work she understands their needs and style and can work through the texts quite quickly.

Working more efficiently by developing a more streamlined approach to the work may include, for example, using macros and customised style sheets in PerfectIt.

It was good to have confirmation that subject-specific knowledge isn’t always needed. It’s entirely possible to read a sentence and know that it’s not punctuated correctly, for example, without knowing what some of the words mean!

Blog post

This text was much more conversational in tone, which generated an interesting discussion about how much we intervene – what do we correct and what do we leave? We agreed that keeping the author’s tone of voice was essential with this type of text, and that we would be more forgiving of grammatical ‘errors’ and less rigid about some rules or style conventions.

It also highlighted that the audience is a major consideration when editing – who is going to be reading this and, in this case, will they care about a more informal style? The answer here is the general public, and probably not – its informality and chatty style will be far more appealing to them than some rigidly grammatical but lifeless prose!

These texts were heavily referenced so, unsurprisingly, the focus of our conversation was on how we would manage this.

We discussed checking references with software such as the now sadly unavailable ReferenceChecker (which still works if you already have it, but is no longer supported or available to buy), and the processes we use to check in-text citations and reference lists.

We also discussed our individual approaches to editing a piece of work:

• the order we do tasks in
• our use of clean-up macros at the pre-editing stage to do the routine tidying up before dealing with the language
• when and how we tackle references
• how we handle author queries

Conclusion

Although we had been quite apprehensive about sharing examples of our work with each other, we all agreed that it was an incredibly useful session.

It was less about ooh, I wouldn’t have put a comma there! and more about sharing our working practices. I think we were all relieved when our way of doing something was validated by another editor doing the same thing in the same way!

We all took away little nuggets of information to try out ourselves, whether that was a macro to experiment with (yes, some of us have yet to bite the macro bullet in any significant way!) or a slightly different approach to a common issue.

This session demonstrated that, even within a small group of editors, the variety in the work we edit is considerable, and each area requires different skills and a different focus.

What was also evident was the value of repeat work in getting to know a client’s needs and preferences, as well as understanding their style and quirks.

Would we willingly do it again? Definitely!

Over to you

Are you a sole business owner or freelancer who has participated in a similar activity?

What was your experience?

I'd love to hear your ideas for exercises in a mastermind retreat.

If you're not in a group, has this inspired you to start one? Let me know if it has!

And if you're going to the SfEP annual conference at Wyboston Lakes in September, I'm running a session on setting up an accountability group. Let me know if I'll see you there, and be sure to come and say hello if we haven't already met!

For my take on language and writing, and general musings on working for yourself, why not sign up to hear about updates to my blog?

Back to reality. No island retreat, more's the pity, but I have been doing some serious reflection and planning. And my colleagues were definitely not shadowy.

I recently took part in an editors’ retreat with six colleagues. It was an inspiring, exhausting, thought-provoking and uplifting weekend. If you’re wondering why anyone would choose to do that, let me explain.

What is a mastermind group?

The purpose of a mastermind group is to provide support to members in achieving self-identified goals; members share their knowledge and experiences to help each other.

There are different ways of constructing a mastermind group. It can be formed by people from different but related business areas, or by people from within a specific sector.

I think it's worth mentioning that diversity is a good thing in a mastermind group - it helps if people have a variety of backgrounds and experiences, as this provides the opportunity for cross-fertilisation of ideas and we benefit from others' experiences and perspectives.

In my group we are all professional freelance editors, running our own businesses, but we all have different backgrounds, with different routes to where we are now. We work with widely varying client bases, although some of us do overlap.

How did my mastermind group get started?

​I’d seen that some North American colleagues had organised a retreat, which piqued my curiosity, and on asking around on Facebook it was soon apparent that several other editors were interested in doing something similar in the UK.

​We set up a private community using Slack and began the process of getting to know each other via this and a few face-to-face calls using Zoom.

The important thing to say here is that we didn't rush into any big commitments. We took time to get to know each other and what we wanted to get out of a group.

Slack gave us the space to explore a few different topics and see where we had similar goals and stumbling blocks regarding our professional development and business practices.

​Once it became clear that we were all compatible and felt comfortable sharing and discussing honestly and openly, we set about organising and coordinating our weekend retreat.

Why have a mastermind group 'retreat'?

For editors who run their business from home, there are clear benefits to investing time and money in a retreat weekend.

Dedicated time away from the distractions of family and home life

More time to focus completely and in depth on work-related issues

Explore personal, professional and business development

​We spent a good while on all the set-up details to make sure everyone was comfortable with what was proposed; from accommodation to travel to the schedule, it was essential that everyone felt involved and catered for.

And eventually the time came. And it was the hottest weekend in London for the past forty years. Of course it was.

Getting there

To make the most of the UK’s labyrinthine rail pricing system, I’d travelled down to London on the Thursday and stayed with friends, so I only had a straightforward trip across London. (No, really, it was straightforward! I may be one of the few people who loves the London Underground, but then, it is a novelty to me.)

​Arriving early, I sat in the sun, enjoying a glass of wine and eating olives – well, it felt like I was in the Med, so why not – and I was soon joined by Margaret and Julia. After wine, olives and other delectables, we headed to our accommodation – a beautifully equipped four-storey Edwardian house next to Wandsworth Common. Perfect.

Creative editing with olive stones and breadsticks!

One by one our fellow editors arrived – Liz, Melanie and Abi – and we found a democratic way of allocating rooms. The important issue of which takeaway to order was settled; I drew the short straw and phoned in the order (we all hate making phone calls, it transpired).

What's covered in an editorial retreat?

FIRST EVENING

The only ‘official’ session the first evening was the ice-breaker, expertly organised by Julia. Our trans-Atlantic group member Janet, in Toronto, joined us via Skype. It was a fun way of getting to know a bit more ( at times rather unexpected and hilarious information) about each other, and I think it was the perfect way for us all to feel a bit more relaxed in each other’s company.

DAY ONE: MORNING SESSION

Some of us (naming no names, but not me!) ventured out for an early morning walk / jog / run around the Common.

Then it was down to the serious retreat business!

We had a packed timetable from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and each session had a facilitator, a note taker and a blogger. (So expect to see more detailed reports on the sessions.)

​At our first morning session we reviewed what our objectives were for the weekend and then focused on the skills we already have.

A skills audit made us think very hard about all of our skills, not just the obvious editorial ones which immediately spring to mind.

Deep in thought during the skills audit.

We also discussed how we share our skills now and how we could do more of that in the future. Our experiences of providing (and receiving) formal and informal skill sharing include mentoring, structured training courses and via online groups, e.g. the Society for Editors and Proofreaders' members forum, and in open and closed Facebook groups.

Unsurprisingly, the always-relevant topic of what our skills are worth and how we monetise them provoked a lot of discussion.

After a welcome break (more cold water was drunk than tea –the temperature was climbing steadily), we moved on to the session which was anticipated with some trepidation: the group edit.

When did you last have a piece of your work looked at closely by one of your peers?

Editors almost never experience this. We return work to our clients and may occasionally get feedback from them, but probably not. Having another editor look at your work makes you feel very exposed: Do they do things the same way as you? Will they think your edits are heavy handed, too light, or plain wrong? What if I'm a terrible editor?

Despite our natural concerns, this session worked extremely well. We each supplied an anonymised piece of our work and talked through the main features of the edit. We discussed how the timescale, budget and client type all influence where we focus our editing and how much time we spend on it.

An unplanned bonus in this session was that we all provided very different samples from a variety of sectors and client types, which allowed for a wide-ranging discussion on many factors including managing references, editing technical documents and preserving the author's voice.

After such an intense session, lunch was very welcome, and we ventured out into the blistering heat (seriously!) to a local deli for some serious refuelling.

DAY ONE: AFTERNOON SESSION

After lunch our next session focused on the skills we need to keep working on: continuing professional development, communication, networking, staying focused, and being efficient and effective.

Several of us facilitated various parts of this session, and there were some challenging exercises to work on which really made us think hard.

It became really apparent just how beneficial it is to spend time talking in depth about a subject, unfettered by our daily routines.

What is your ideal client and project?

In the final session of the day we took time to examine work-life balance and came to the conclusion that there may in fact be no such thing as the perfect balance; it's a constant see-sawing between the two.

We also debated the future of publishing and how freelance editing might fit in this sector and others. These are uncertain times for the publishing industry, and for editorial professionals. But with uncertainty comes opportunity, and it's up to us to be proactive and position our businesses. Whether that is to focus on publishers, or on other sectors, or both, is for each of us to decide.

After some welcome down time, we went out for dinner. Some cocktails may have been involved, but I couldn't possibly comment.

DAY TWO

​We only had a morning session on the second day, due to travel commitments.

There was a lovely confidence-building exercise on 'why we are all great' and then we reviewed what we'd done: Did we achieve what we'd intended? What were our next steps going to be?

Practising our power poses!

Is a mastermind retreat worthwhile?

There's no doubt in my mind that we all got something out of the retreat, even if it wasn't what we expected. Some of us realised that much of what we are doing is right for us, and that we don't have to conform to how others run their businesses.

There were several lightbulb moments during and after the event, and we all agreed that the next week was spent mulling over the issues that struck home with us.

Taking time out from your daily routine to reflect, review and plan can never be a bad thing.

Doing that in a pleasant environment, far removed from your daily routine and all the distractions it brings allows you to focus fully and deeply on the topics you've chosen.

And having similarly focused, likeminded colleagues who are willing to question and challenge themselves in an atmosphere of honesty and openness is an invigorating and affirmative experience.

Will we do it again? I think we will. It might be a slightly different format and we'll probably do some things differently, based on our experience this year.

Retreat! Left to right: Julia, Margaret, Abi, Liz, Denise and Melanie

Like most things in life, you get out of a mastermind group what you put in. I'm thankful that my group members gave 100 per cent in the preparation of and participation in our retreat.

Over to you

Are you in a mastermind group? Does it function in a similar way to this one? I'd love to hear others' experiences and ideas of what makes a successful group.

If you're not in a group, has this inspired you to start one? Let me know if it has!

If you're going to the SfEP annual conference at Wyboston Lakes in September, I'm running a session on setting up an accountability group. Let me know if I'll see you there, and be sure to come and say hello if we haven't already met!

For my take on language and writing, and general musings on working for yourself, why not sign up to hear about updates to my blog?

​Earlier this month I attended CMALive17, the annual conference of The Content Marketing Academy, in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was the third year I have been to one of Chris Marr’s events, and it was better than ever. That man knows how to put on an event! I’m not going to give you a blow-by-blow account of the two days, as there are already more than 30 pieces written about it. You can take a look at this round-up of independent reviews and articles of CMA17 to get a feel for what went down. (Clue: A LOT)

Last year I wrote two blogs after TCMA2016, as it was known then. It’s always useful to look back and see whether we’ve followed through on our plans and intentions, so let’s take a quick review of how I've done with mine!

Don’t wait to get started: create content now. I had done a lot of procrastinating and worrying about writing blog articles, but I bit the bullet and started straight after the conference. I accepted that they wouldn't be perfect, but that I had to get started.

Produce content consistently. I’ve written a total of 50 posts in the last year, so that’s pretty much one per week. I’m happy with that! I was helped along by taking part in a 90-day challenge earlier this year. It came just at the right time because I felt I was starting to flag a bit, and it gave me the push I needed to keep going.

Be bigger, braver, bolder. I don’t know if I can be the judge of whether I’m being bigger, braver and bolder, but I have been pushing myself to try new things – I did an interview for ChloëForbes-Kindlen in September, I took part in a Facebook Live challenge in October, I gave a webinar for the CMA community in May, and I have guest blog posts and a podcast lined up. So I’m at least trying to not play it too safe.

Create a season. I haven’t created a season as such, but I have done several two-part blog posts, which is a start. I am interested in exploring the idea of a season further, though. I am interested in exploring creating a season, though.

Find your alpha audience. I’ve definitely been working on finding my alpha audience. The focus of my blog posts has narrowed down more, and I now write content aimed primarily at businesses. But I also write about topics which I hope will be interesting and relevant to my editing colleagues and freelancers generally.

Overall, I’m pleased with how I’ve done, particularly with producing content consistently. The important thing for me here was not to just churn out content for the sake of it. I wanted to write content that was useful and relevant and sounded like it came from me. I didn’t want to add to the mountain of distinctly average content out there that all sounds the same.

And what do you know? Someone thought I’d done just that!

Surprise! I won an award!

Imagine my shock when Chris Marr was handing out awards at the conference, and I won Best Business Blog! No one was more surprised than me!

My friend Anne Johnston, a fantastic photographer, had just won Most Promising Content Marketer and was already up on stage. I was merrily taking photos of her while listening to Chris’s description of the next award winner, and what ‘they’ had done, thinking, Ooh, I wonder who that is? Turns out it was me! I was so, so surprised and honoured – there are so many people in our community writing great content.

Now I have to live up to it and keep writing quality content. No pressure then!

Receiving the award for Best Business Blog from Chris Marr at CMALive17

Accountability: the missing link

In it I reflected on how I’d been to the TCMA conference the year before, learned loads and had my eyes well and truly opened to the possibilities that content marketing can create.

And yet I'd done nothing about it.

I realised my main problem was a lack of accountability, and so I set out three commitments for all to see:

Create regular content for my website. We’ve already established that I can tick that box!

Continue to build a community around me. This is the most important thing I’ve been working on, and it has made all the difference this year.

Redefine my business. This is a work in progress, but I’m getting there and I now have a much clearer picture of who my ideal clients are.

Lack of accountability can be a real problem when you're a one-man band. You are essentially accountable to no one and nothing, except perhaps a client’s deadline. Even the most motivated of self-starters can benefit from having someone check if they've followed through on their plans, however small. There are always troughs between the peaks, and support, honest feedback – and sometimes constructive criticism on some aspect of our behaviour or business practices – can be very welcome.

We all benefit from an objective viewpoint when we’re so close to a problem that we genuinely can’t see the way forward. And when someone else has been there and done that, it’s reassuring to hear from them and know that there is a way forward, even if we can’t quite see it yet.

​So I’ve done a few things this year to make myself more accountable.

I’ve joined the CMA community

I’d been on the fence about this before last year’s conference, as it’s a paid membership community and I wasn’t sure I could justify spending money on it. However, after the conference I took up an offer of a 30-day free trial and I was sold.

It’s a diverse community of over 100 business owners, and the level of knowledge, learning and support exceeded all my expectations. The generosity of the other members, and their willingness to share their knowledge and experiences– the good and the bad–is more than I could ever have hoped for. There are regular webinars from big names in content marketing and other business areas, weekly calls, resources on all aspects of being a business owner and regular challenges to stretch us and keep us accountable.

I’m in an accountability group

One of the huge plusses of my CMA membership is my accountability group within the community, Actionlab. There are four of us: Ross Coverdale, a kick-ass video editor; Martin Huntbatch, a website and SEO genius; John Espirian, my editorial colleague and technical writer set on world domination; and me.

We meet fortnightly via the wonders of Zoom, and we have a private channel in the CMA Slack community. This year we finally all met in the same place at conference, although it did take a while to organise even that, but I think you’ll agree the photo was worth it!

Actionlab! Ross, Me, John and Martin. Sensible heads on.

​We basically support each other and provide feedback, guidance and a shoulder to cry on if required! It can be a total love-in at times, but we can be very stern and provide a much-needed kick up the backside if someone is losing direction!

I’ve been on an editing retreat

Last summer I read how colleagues in North America had been on a weekend retreat. I posted in an editorial Facebook group, asking if anyone in the UK had been on one. It started a chain of conversations which led to seven of us creating a Slack community to help us with accountability and direction, both as editors, in terms of Continuing Professional Development, and as business owners, looking at marketing, strategy, direction, etc.

This gives me accountability and a sounding board from an editorial point of view. The others, like me, are all Advanced Professional Members of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders (SfEP). So our business discussions can focus on the challenges and opportunities of working in this field.

Ultimately, the aim was to work towards having a weekend retreat, and earlier this month we did just that. We took an AirBnB house in London, and our colleague in Canada joined us for the afternoon and evening sessions via Skype. It worked out really well – look out for blog posts on that, too!

Opportunities!

​When you speak out enthusiastically about something, you find there are opportunities!

At the SfEP annual conference in Birmingham last September, I took part in a session about professional development. At one point I explained about accountability groups and how useful they were, and although no one seemed aware of what they were, there was a lot of interest.

It so happened that I had been sitting next to Beth Hamar, who had just taken over as Conference Director. A few months later she emailed to ask if I would run a session on accountability groups at this year’s conference. How could I refuse?! I’ll let you know how it goes!

Planning, accountability, and an award. It's been quite a year!

Do you take the time to plan and reflect, either on your business or on your personal and professional development? How do you keep yourself accountable? Let me know in the comments what works, or doesn't, for you. I'm always interested to hear other's stories!

For my take on language and writing, and general musings on working for yourself, why not sign up to hear about updates to my blog?